


Willow

by ThimbleOfWeeds



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Evil James Potter, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Good Draco Malfoy, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, No Horcruxes, Voldemort is Already Dead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-07-16 00:22:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16074479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThimbleOfWeeds/pseuds/ThimbleOfWeeds
Summary: James Potter survived that Halloween night, along with the baby, Violet Potter (fem!Harry). But the death of his wife changed James, and Violet's childhood wasn't a happy one. When she gets to Hogwarts, she isn't free from the watchful gaze of James Potter and the domineering presence of Neville.





	1. Prologue

The night of October 31st changed the Potter Family forever. While James Potter was out fighting the dark wizards known as Death Eaters, their master, the Dark Lord Voldemort himself, was assaulting the safe house where Lily Potter was watching over their child, Violet Potter. Lily Potter fought the Dark Lord until they both reached their end. What Lily Potter did that night is not known, but when James Potter returned from the battle, the bodies of Lily and Voldemort were surrounded by ashes and the charred remains of the living room. The War was ended not on a battlefield, but in a cottage at Godric’s Hollow, through the sacrifice of the redheaded witch. 

And while Violet Potter doesn’t remember that night, she does remember desperately wishing that her mother had survived that night. James Potter was rarely at Potter Mansion; instead, he was usually at the Ministry, whether due to his position as Head Auror or his seats on the Wizengamot. The little she did see of her father was usually full of yelling about a failure on her part. Violet was sure that her mother wouldn’t have let this happen. In the pictures before Lily’s death, everyone seemed so happy. Not like the pictures afterwards, James and her staring straight at the camera, not touching, and their smiles not reaching their eyes. 

\------ ------ ----- ------

Six year old Violet Potter was wearing Gryffindor red robes and her hair was done up with a scarlet ribbon. Her green eyes were full of tears as she was pulled into an abandoned room by her father, his fingers digging into her arm. His face was red and his hazel eyes were narrowed as he glared at his daughter. “Why can’t you just be good? Why do you have to make everything difficult?,” he growled at her. 

“I’m sorry,” Violet whispered as she tried to pull out of her father’s grasp, only succeeding in making him hold tighter. 

“All you have to do is be polite, play with the other children. Why is that so impossible for you?” His face was next to hers as he lectured her, his free hand was poking her in the chest. 

“I will. I promise, I will.” Violet couldn’t say that she didn’t want to play with the children, that she just wanted to read a book and be left alone. That wasn’t what a Heir did. A Heir must be friendly and make connections with their allied Houses. 

“All your friends are here. Neville is here. Just be good, for Merlin’s sake. I don’t understand why this is so difficult for you,” he growled. Violet nodded and tried to quiet her sobs. Her father let go of her arm to roughly wipe away her tears. His fingers dug into her shoulder as he marched her to the children’s room. 

The room was quite large and was littered with toys big and small, everything from a slide to a tiny Quidditch Team. The walls were blue and had clouds floating through them, mirroring the weather outside of the house. A dragon soared on the ceiling, peeking in and out of the cloud cover. Neville was holding court with Cormac, Justin, Terry, and the rest of the boys, playing with toy wands and swords, pretending to be King Arthur and Merlin. The girls were playing with stuffed pegasi, taking turns flying around the room. Violet walked over to the girls, getting smiles as the group welcomed her back. “Would anyone like to play Gobstones?” asked Violet. The girls were agreeable, and the boys soon joined them. Violet made sure to laugh and smile, putting the growing bruise on her arm in the back of her mind. 

\------ ------ ----- ------

At eight years old, Violet Potter had silky hair falling down her back, a gold ribbon keeping her hair away from her face. She wore matching gold robes as she walked to her father’s office. She had been summoned, and her feet seemed to have turned into heavier and heavier weights as she approached her destination. Luckily for Violet, the halls in Potter Mansion were long, and allowed her plenty of time to prepare. Eventually however, she stopped at one of the ornate wooden door, knocking softly on the door. There was no reply, but the door opened after a pause. 

The office had marble floors and burnt gold walls. There was many shelves lining the walls and in the center of the room was a large desk with parchment and scrolls littered messily on the surface. Her father sat in a grand chair reading a letter with a furrowed brow. Violet quietly slipped into the chair opposite him. She stared at her folded hands until she heard him set down the paper a few minutes later. 

“I’ve decided to arrange a private tutor to come to the Mansion and instruct you. He’s apparently very good...and very quiet. So if you fail to do any magic, he won’t blab to any of the other Houses.” Violet felt his eyes boring holes into her. 

“Thank you, Father,” she whispered.

“Look at me when we’re talking. What are you, some cowardly Hufflepuff?” he said. As she looked up, she saw his clenched fists, his reddening face. 

“I’m sorry, Father.”

James snorted. “You’re always sorry, aren’t you? Why can’t you just be good instead of being sorry all the damn time? It’s not hard, Violet. It’s not fucking hard.”

Violet nodded. She could feel her eyes watering but she couldn’t let them fall, that’d just make him angrier. “I’ll do better, I swear it.”

“See that you do. Neville will be joining you with the tutor. Maybe you can take a page out of his book and actually do some magic.”

“Father, I thought that you said it would be a private tutor? Why hire one if there will be other Heirs here anyway?” Violet did not like Neville. He was arrogant and brash and always grabbing her too hard when she just wanted to be left alone. He was also her father’s favorite and the best student in the class hosted by the Browns, a class most of the children of great Houses attended. 

“The Longbottoms are our closest allies, they won’t tell anyone if you fail to do magic. Not that you will,” he glared at her, “And, I want you and Neville to become better friends. He’ll do you some good.” 

“Yes, Father.” Violet had the feeling Potter Mansion was going to become even more unbearable. 

\------ ------ ----- ------

Shortly after the arrival of dusk, the train came to a halt at Hogsmeade. The group put their books and games back in their trunks before they joined the horde of students exiting the Express. A large half-giant with wild, wiry, black hair and a thick beard was holding a lantern and yelling for First years. 

The first years made their way down the path and Hogwarts came into sight. It was huge, larger than any of the mansions Violet had seen before. There were dozens of towers and the entire castle was glowing from the windows. It looked serene. As she passed over the lake, and no doubt through the wards, Violet felt a sense of safety, of home, wash over her.

As the boats entered into a hidden cave, Violet prepared herself. She didn’t know what the test was; it was considered tradition to keep it secret. Whatever it was, she needed to be placed in Gryffindor. Life would be impossible if she was placed anywhere else. 

Hagrid, apparently that was the half-giant’s name, which she vaguely recalled James mentioning, knocked on the door before being replaced by an older witch with grey hair and a hat that was fashionable forty years ago. Minevra McGonagall. The Transfiguration professor and the Head of Gryffindor House. Violet straightened her back. Maybe the Heads placed the students in the Houses. If that were the case, Violet was sure McGonagall would pick her. She was the daughter of Lily and James Potter, two quintessential Gryffindors. 

Before too much time had passed, McGonagall was leading all the first years into the Great Hall. It was as magical as the rest of the place. Four, empty, glass columns stood above the double doors large enough to fit an ogre through. Candles joined with the stars in the night sky that acted as the ceiling of the room. Four tables stretched the length of the hall, filled with students in the black Hogwarts robes. 

A long table holding about a dozen staff faced them, and in front of the table, on a crickety, wooden stool, was an old, tattered hat. As it burst into song, Violet couldn’t help but be confused. This was the test? To put on the hat? That was all? How could she prove how brave she was if they just had to put on a hat? 

“Bones, Susan,” shouted McGonagall, pulling Violet out of her trance. The hat was on Susan’s head for a mere moment before it yelled out Hufflepuff, and Violet watched as Susan hurried over to the Hufflepuff table, where Hannah was already waiting. 

“Boot, Terry.” As McGonagall yelled his name, Terry left the gaggle of first years and walked over to the hat. It took the Hat even less time to declare him a Ravenclaw

As the list went on, Violet got more and more worried. The Hat was on each students head for less than a moment before it decided. How in the world would Violet manage to get placed in Gryffindor? 

“Potter, Violet.” McGonagall’s yell hit Violet in her soul. The walk to the Hat felt like an eternity. This would decide how well her time at Hogwarts would be. She took a deep breath and plopped the hat on her head. 

“Please Gryffindor. Please Gryffindor. Please Gryffindor. Please Gryffindor,” Violet whispered as she felt the Hat enter her mind. 

“Hold on a moment, girl. Let me look around,” the Hat said in her mind.

“Please Gryffindor. Please. I need to be placed in Gryffindor.”

“Ravenclaw would suit you better….”

“Please. You don’t understand. I need to be Gryffindor.”

‘I see… Very well. Gryffindor!” 

Violet sent a silent thanks to the hat before taking it off her head and walking over to the table of the lions. Neville made room for her next to him and Violet sat down. “Congratulations, Violet. James’ll be happy.”

“He will.”


	2. A Normal Friday Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A typical Friday night with the sixth year Gryffindors isn't as peaceful as some would like.

Sixteen year old Violet Potter walked down the halls of Hogwarts by the side of Neville Longbottom, as always. The two of them were surrounded by most of the Gryffindors in their year. Ron Weasley, Keeper of Gryffindor House and confirmed tallest person in Gryffindor was on Neville’s left, meanwhile Lavender and Pavarti, the go-to witch for beauty charms and the Gossip Queen of Gryffindor, respectively, stood to the right of Violet. Seamus and Dean brought up the rear; the pair of them were practically inseparable and they were now the pair responsible for smuggling in alcohol and providing distractions now that the Weasley Twins had graduated.

The seven sixth years were strolling through the halls, slowly making their way lower and lower. Violet knew exactly what they were looking for, and she wasn’t looking forward to finding it. It was a Friday night and the thing to do, as far as Neville and Ron were concerned, was to find the Slytherins led by Draco Malfoy and get into a fight. Since they had all weekend to recover afterwards, they were less likely to be caught by the teachers and receive detentions or lose points. Violet had tried to convince the rest to stop this weekly hunt one time, but all she had gotten out of it was an angry letter from James and bruises on her arm from Neville dragging her along. She didn’t try again. 

Seamus and Dean were watching their backs as the group strolled further from Lion territory and closer to the Snake Pit. As they descended deeper, the air gained a sinister chill and the torches seemed to give off less light. When she was a Firstie someone had told her that it was so much darker and colder in the dungeons because the Slytherins had snakes lurking in the shadows waiting to eat any small witches that got lost in the halls. Of course after searching the dungeons themselves, all the First years had found has a detention from some Slytherin Prefect. 

After a few more minutes of wandering, they found the Slytherins. Draco Malfoy, he was the undisputed leader of the Slytherins much as Neville was of the Gryffindors. His piercing blue eyes were narrowed as he took in the seven of them. Flanking him was Crabbe and Goyle, they weren’t much good with their wands but they did make good use out of their fists. Greengrass, Parkinson, and Nott surrounded Malfoy as well. “Zabini and Fawley are missing,” Violet murmured. 

“Maybe they’re too busy snogging in some broom closet,” Lavender said. 

“Fawley? With Zabini? With the ears she has? Not likely,” snickered Parvati. 

“Malfoy!” shouted Weasley as the two groups neared. 

“Weasel. Still clawing onto the coattails of Longbottom, I see. Are you hoping he’ll feel pity and pay for new robes for the rest of your family? I see someone already bought some for you.”

Ron’s face went as red as his hair. And Malfoy was right. The Longbottoms and Potters had quietly supplied the Weasley Family a small donation so that Ron could get a new wand and some new robes made. “I see that the only people you can surround yourself with are Death Eaters and dimwits, Malfoy!” said Neville as he took a step forward and drew his wand. 

The blond mirrored the action and shortly enough the hall was lit up with the reds, purples, and greens of spells. Violet had fallen back, focusing on providing shields and deflecting curses; meanwhile, Seamus and Dean had had surged forward, throwing Expulso’s left and right. Most of them went wide, but the few that would have struct were deflected by Nott. 

He mirrored Violet in his defensive spellwork, protecting the Slytherins as she protecting the Lions. Neville was throwing curses he had learned from his Auror father while Ron tossed some viscous hexes the Twins had taught him. The Slytherins were staying on the defensive, rarely able to get a spell in against the larger numbers of the Gryffindors. The few they shot off, however, usually met their marks. Violet managed to shield all her companions from the nasty affects the Slytherins shot off. 

Spells hit the walls in explosions of light explosions of rubble. The armor stands that lined the halls were singed; some had lost bits of armor or helms, falling around their stands. The few portraits this deep in the castle were hiding from the spellfire behind couches and plants, and those that had no cover in their portraits were fleeing to other paintings somewhere safer. 

The hall started to smell of burning as Violet shielded the other Lions from the spellfire. A streak of dark blue shot out at Neville. Violet pointed her wand and a cloudy shield appeared to absorb the spell. Two spells flew past Violet and hit Neville and Ron in their backs, leaving deep cuts in Ron’s back and wrapping Neville up in ropes. Violet was forced to drop her shields in the front as she moved to defend their backs from their new attackers.

Zabini and Fawley had snuck around to attack their backs while the rest of the Snakes distracted them. Dean cut Neville free as he turned to attack Zabini. The Snakes began to advance on the group on both sides, Malfoy’s group growing more offensive thanks to the arrival of his reinforcements. The Gryffindors formed a circle, trying to defeat both sides as Violet stood in the middle, shooting out shields when she could. 

A blue light hit Nott in the chest, blowing him to the end of the hall and leaving him motionless on the ground. Crabbe and Goyle began to charge at the Lions, shooting bright orange Conflagration spells at Dean and Seamus. Parvati was stunned by Fawley who was then taken down by the dark blue Freezing charm sent by Lavender. Seamus was hit by one of the Conflagration Charms, burning his arm and causing him to drop his wand. Greengrass took advantage of his weakness and sent a Stunning spell his way, dropping him from the fight. 

The circle of Lions grew smaller as the Snakes began to encircle them. But, Ron and Neville would not let them win so easily. They exploded, spells being flung with no care for aim or targets. A Blasting Curse hit the wall which gave way to an abandoned classroom, debri flying into desks and breaking them. Malfoy was hit by a Cutting charm sent from Neville as he dodged the Arachinifors Jinx sent by Ron. Another Cutting charm hit him, cutting him deep across his chest. His blood began to stain his white shirt as he shot a green spell at Neville. Neville was struck as he shot a spell towards Zabini. His words were cut off as a large rhinoceros horn replaced his tongue. 

Neville’s face began to grow red as he turned towards Violet, Lavender covering his back. Violet looked around the battleground that the hallway had become. Parvati and Seamus were unconscious, Ron was bleeding from some spell he had been struck by, and Neville had a horn for a tongue and half of his hair was burnt. Fawley was immobile, her body had been pushed to the ground by Zabini to prevent more spellfire from hitting her. Malfoy was looking paler than usual as blood continued to seep from his chest; his left arm was purple and had tentacles sprouting from it, a spell from Ron having hit him. Nott was still unconscious at the end of the hall, surrounded by bits of armor, rubble, and canvas from the remnants of the Blasting Curse. 

Violet turned and knocked on the wall three times. It swung open and she held up a shield as the rest of the Gryffindors went through, Lavender and Dean dragging Parvati and Seamus with them. The Slytherins stopped their spellfire as the Lions began to flee and Violet spared a look for Hailey before following the rest of the Gryffindors. 

The common room of Gryffindor was a cheery red circular room with comfy couches nad chairs scattered around tables and a great fireplace, six feet tall with a roaring fire that was always the perfect temperature. The sixth years sat by the fire as Violet made her way through healing the injuries they received in the battle, from sending simple Rennervates at Lavender to healing the cuts and undoing the spells on the rest of the sixth years. After Violet undid the Horn Tongue Jinx on Neville, she let out a sigh. She was exhausted. The spells had really ramped up this year, and she was worried how much longer until someone got too hurt for her to heal. The rest of the sixth years were resting around her, snacking on some food that the house elves had brought up and soaking in the warmth of the fire. 

Neville sat next to her, staring at the fire, fuming. He grabbed her wrist, his fingers dug into her skin as he pulled her up. “Let’s go talk somewhere private, dear.” Violet followed him out of the common room and into a abandoned classroom nearby. As Prefects, they wouldn’t get in trouble for being out after curfew. “Are you useless or do just hate all of us?” Neville growled as he whipped her around to face him. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Neville,” Violet said hesitatingly. She tried to tug her wrist out of Neville’s hand but he just pulled her in closer. 

“You don’t know what I’m talking about? Seriously? What were you doing in that fight? It’s like you wanted us to fucking lose! You let Zabini and that bloody traitor Fawley sneak up on us and then you let Malfoy hit me with that bloody curse!” They were almost nose to nose and Violet could see the rage in Neville’s eyes. 

Cold ran through her veins and she felt a black darkness blocking her throat. She wanted to just go back to the common room, to the fire. “I-I’m sorry Neville. I was trying to protect everyone, I was trying my best, I swear. There were spells in all directions and with the Slytherins so close, I didn’t have much time to react.”

“We’re going to be married someday, Violet. I need to be able to trust that you’ll do your job, whether it’s defending me or being my wife. Understand?”

Violet paused before she nodded, “Yes, Neville.”

“Good. I won’t write about this to James. I would hate for him to be disappointed.”

“Thank you, Neville.” Neville nodded before kissing her on the cheek and walking out of the classroom. 

Violet heard the door close and a sob came out of her mouth as tear began to leak. Her knees felt weak and she sunk to the floor. Her wrist was throbbing, she’d have to be sure to heal it before anyone noticed. Marriage. With Neville. For some reason she thought life after Hogwarts would be better, but just like life at Hogwarts itself, her father had found a way. Neville would be just as bad as James, and it’d be for the rest of her life.

She could imagine herself telling Neville to shove it whenever he asked her, going back home and yelling at James, and then taking all of her things and leaving to go be successful on her own. Leaving the Potter votes and Family and making her own way. 

But she couldn’t. James would be able to block her from getting any money, through jobs or her vaults until she had no choice to come back. And if she did manage to get a job, she could be called back to the Head of Potter House if the Wizengamot ordered it, and as the sole Heir to the Potter Family, they would call her back. 

She was trapped. Neville and her may not have a marriage contract, but that was just because it was Potter custom to not use marriage contracts. She was just as bound. She felt her robes getting wet as the tears dripped off her chin. She would marry Neville. There was no other choice. 

Violet stayed in that classroom for much too long, but she had managed to stop crying and hiccuping by the time she had left. Instead of heading back to the common room, however, she headed back down to the dungeons. Someone needed to clean up the mess before a teacher or student saw it. And she’d have to convince the paintings not to tattle either. 

Violet pulled out an old piece of parchment from her pockets. She looked down the hall before murmuring the password, “I solemnly swear I’m up to no good.” 

The Weasley Twins had given her this near the end of fifth year. They had discovered her father was one of the Marauders and thought she should have it since they were graduating. “After all, better you than Ronnie,” Fred had said as they handed it over. 

It had proved useful, showing Violet all sorts of secret passages and letting her avoid Neville when she wanted to escape. Now she was using it to make sure that no teachers lurked around. It seemed they were all either sleeping or staying in their private rooms. With the coast clear, Violet put away the Map and began to make her way to the dungeons. It was slow going, and Hogwarts always seemed more ominous at night. There were no torches and the howling of the wind seemed to follow right behind you as you walked the halls. The dungeons seemed especially menacing. It felt like someone was hiding in the armor, watching her as she creeped along. The hissing of pipes sounded just like the hissing of snakes, and Violet made her Lumos extra bright in response. 

Violet found the hallway easily enough. It looked worse now, with only the cold light of her spell to illuminate it. Violet sighed, before beginning to work. She started in the classroom, clearing the debris and fixing the desks. She couldn’t fix the hole in the wall, it would take a couple of wizards working together to fix something like that. As she stepped through the makeshift doorway, she saw another Lumos illuminating the end of the wall. “Who’s there?” she said as she sent the Lumos above her head, freeing her wand for more spells though it cause a greater drain on her magic.

Malfoy stepped from around the corner. He wasn’t wearing the normal school robes, instead he wore a green evening robe. He still looked paler than normal and his hair was ruffled, but he looked alright. Malfoy had his hands up in a placating gesture. “I mean no harm, Potter. I just came to clean up this mess, same as you.” 

Violet lowered her wand slowly. “I suppose I could use some help with this wall.” Malfoy nodded his head before walking over. They traded suspicious glances before raising their wands and combining their magic to fix the wall. Malfoy’s magic felt like winter, cool but refreshing, it reminded her of the sky, the sharp grey of his eyes and the coolness of his hair. But it felt weaker than normal, he had used a lot of magic in the battle, too. 

They both released a sigh and lent against the newly repaired wall after using that much magic. After they had rested for a few moments, Violet slowly asked, “...You’re alright, right, Malfoy? It looked like you’d been cut pretty badly…” 

Malfoy glanced down to his chest before he began rubbing it, “It’s healed. It still hurts a little, but I’m not that talented with healing magic. And you? You weren’t hit, were you?”

“No, I’m fine, thank you.” Violet paused for a moment. “Do you want me to look at your wound? I’m sure it’s healed, but I’ve been studying healing spells since the beginning of my first year so I’m quite good at them. I might be able to help with the soreness, at the very least…”

Malfoy glanced over at her, studying her, before looking at the wall across from them. “That would be appreciated. Thank you, Potter. But let’s finish this first. It’s more important we get this mess cleaned up.”

“Alright, Malfoy.” The pair of them worked in silence, slowly working their way through the halls. Violet cleared the rubble and repaired the damages to the walls and floor while Malfoy repaired the suits of armor and painting, fixing any holes, burns, and scratches. Before he fixed a painting, he would have it swear to not report anything, leaving it damaged until it agreed. 

Soon enough, the hall was back to how it had been before the battle. The suits of armor gleamed, the torches were back in their brackets, and all the painting had been restored to their former glory. Violet and Malfoy met in the middle of the hallway, staring at one another. “Let’s go to the classroom. That way we can sit down,” Violet suggested.

Malfoy agreed and followed her in. The two sat down before malfoy unbuttoned his robe and undershirt, revealing a puckered, red scar. Violet waved her wand over the wound, muttering some diagnostic charms. “Well it looks like nothing in your chest was nicked, so you’ll be okay. But I can get rid of the scar for you?” 

“Please.”

With Malfoy’s permission, Violet began to cast some more advanced healing charms, removing the scar and soothing the wound, getting rid of the soreness and any lingering pain. “There. It shouldn’t bother you anymore.”

“Thank you, Potter. You didn’t have to do this.”

“I could help you, so I did.” Violet brushed her hair away from her face as she looked away. 

“I thought you said you hadn’t been hit?” Malfoy said.

“I didn’t,” Violet responded, confused.

“Then what happened to your wrist?”

Damn. She had forgot to heal it. Merlin’s beard. “Neville grabbed me a little too hard when we were leaving through the secret passage. He wanted to make sure I didn’t get left behind.”

Malfoy looked at her with sceptical eyes. “Right.”

The two didn’t speak for a few moments, looking around the room and at each other. “Malfoy, could you tell me something?”

“It depends on what you’re asking.”

“....Is Hailey okay? And Nott? They were hit pretty hard.”

“Hailey’s fine. She hit her head pretty hard, but other than that, she’s okay. Theo had to go to Pomfrey. I think he broke a few bones.” Malfoy looked at a desk as he whispered the information. His voice was somber, and he had a crease in between his eyes as he talked about Nott. 

“....I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t have anything to do with it.” 

“I could have tried.”

Malfoy didn’t say anything to that. After another minute, he stood. “We should get back to our common rooms. It’s getting late.”

“You’re right.” The two stood but neither made a move for the door. “I guess I’ll see you later, Malfoy?”

“See you next Friday.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all the commenters, people who followed, and people who kudos'd the last chapter. It really means a lot. This is the first time anyone other than my sister has read anything I've written. I really appreciate all the nice comments! It makes me smile every time I think about it. I hope you guys liked this chapter as well. Constructive criticism is very much appreciated! Hopefully it won't be so long until the next update, I've been much more busy than I expected recently.


	3. Classes and Plans

For Gryffindors, the weekend passed with idle chatter while lazing by the lake, late night Gobstone games, and the smallest amount of work they could get away with. The professors hadn’t started to pile on the load yet though all were aware it was coming, and so the Lions were intent to enjoy their last bit of summer before the chill of winter and heavy workloads destroyed it. Lavender and the other girls had already started to talk about the annual Gryffindor party that was due to be hosted on Halloween. They insisted on making it even better, even more outrageous, than usual. Violet watched Granger as they discussed the party; she was reading a book but had left her hangings open, something she rarely ever did.

Granger had never attended one of the parties thrown by the now sixth years, nor did she participate in any of the study sessions that were held near the end of the year. Violet always assumed that she didn’t want to attend, she had never shown any interest in befriending any of her yearmates, or anyone else really. At the end of first year, when Granger found out that after all her hard work she still hadn’t beaten the years of tutoring all the magical-raised received, when she discovered she had not come first in her year, or in any of the classes, she was furious. She had been content in her superiority in first year, she was sure that her scores would show all of the other Gryffindors that she was better, that she didn’t need friends. But Granger had been wrong, she had alienated all her roommates, all her year, for nothing. And now all she did everyday was study in the library and go to classes. Perhaps, though, this year would be different? Granger never left her hangings open, and Violet saw her glancing at them in between reading her book. Violet had tried to invite Granger to one of their study sessions at the end of second year but she had been refused. Granger had still been too proud to admit defeat, to admit she wanted friends. Maybe after five years of solitude she was ready? Violet would try to invite her to the party. Neville would have to be convinced, but her father wouldn’t mind her inviting the smart muggleborn Gryffindor to a party.

“Think we’ll be able to smuggle some firewhiskey in, Violet?” Parvati interrupted her musings with a smile and the sound of Lavender giggling.

“Ooo we can definitely get that. That’s easy. We should try something a bit more difficult than that, don’t you think?” Lavender asked.

Violet turned her attention back to her friends, “Well I’m sure I could get my father to donate some firewhiskey or searum. And Dean and Seamus should be able to get vipervodka and butterbeer from the Hog’s Head.”

“I’m sure we can get Dean and Seamus to secure the firewhiskey and butterbeer if you can get the searum. No vipervodka though, that’s a Snake drink,” Lavender said.

“I’ll get Ron to sort out the food. They love him in the kitchens. And all three of us can work on decorations,” Parvati said.

“Sounds good. What about where it’s going to be? McGonagall will kill us if we have it in the Common Room again,” Violet asked. She remembered how grumpy the professor was last year. McGonagall had been woken up a few hours before dawn by a Prefect and she had in return woken them all up barely after the sun had risen to lecture them and watch them clean up the mess.

“It will have to be somewhere close by, where the Gryffindor Prefects patrol. Somewhere the Snakes don’t come,” Parvati added.

“Well we’ll just leave that up to the boys. We’ll do decorations, they find the place. That’s fair enough,” Lavender said with a definitive nod.

After that, the girls considered the discussion finished, at least for now. They started to prepare for bed, and the coming Monday. Violet sank into her bed and plans of parties were quickly replaced with the same thoughts that had been bothering her all weekend, those of a blond Slytherin who was much nicer than he was supposed to be. Violet rubbed her wrist as she fell asleep.

The next day started with Defense, run by Professor Rowland Jigger, an Auror who retired after the War. The man combined neatly combed, greying hair with a pencil-thin mustache. He had a red, sharp scar that ran from his temple to the corner of his mouth, a scar from some dead Death Eater. His classroom was brightly lit, the sun shone through the windows and torches lined the walls; no shadows were allowed in his classroom. Unlike previous years, all the Houses shared the same class, their numbers culled by OWLS. There was more Gryffindors than any other House in this class, only Lavender had dropped the class. Most Ravenclaws prefered to focus on more academic classes, like Charms and Ancient Runes. There was no War, Defense didn’t really have a purpose. About half the Slytherins in their year and a third of the Hufflepuffs were in this class as well.

Though there was no assigned seating, all the students were split into distinct groups, separated by House lines. The Gryffindors were in the back next to the windows, soaking up the sunlight and passing notes between each other. The few Hufflepuffs still in the class sat next to the Gryffindors in the back while the Ravens sat in front of the Lions. Which left the Slytherins in the front next to the door, as far from the Gryffindors as could be. The only student who broke the unspoken rules dividing the classroom was Hermione Granger. She sat front and center, mixing in with the Ravenclaws rather than her Lions.

Professor Rowland started off the class with his annual, rambling lecture, “The War. It lasted for a little over a decade. Elven years of terror, confusion, mass panic and mass death. The war ended fifteen years ago, you lot were mere babes. But I bet all of you can point to one effect of the English War that still lingers in our society.” He paused, as if looking around for responses, but everyone had learned by now not to interrupt a Jiggers start-of-the-term lecture. The professor kept speaking, but Violet found she couldn’t focus. Her eyes kept being drawn across the room. Malfoy was taking notes, or at least pretending to. While Professor Jiggers was turned to face the windows, Violet watched Nott drop a note into his hand.

Nott looked better than he had on Friday though that wasn’t very hard. She watched Malfoy read the note, write something on it, and then quickly pass it over to Parkinson. “They look so arrogant. I bet they’re proud remembering all the destruction their parents caused,” a voice whispered next to her. Violet jumped and then she turned to look over at Neville. His brows were furrowed and she could see the rage in his eyes. She knew that face, knew to be wary.

“Well they lost,” Violet murmured back. That appeased Neville. He leaned back in his chair, relaxing his hands that were gripping the table. He was still leaned over to her, however, just begging Professor Jiggers to see them. Violet watched as he turned from the windows to look at his desk, his hands behind his back as he strolled over to it. After she was sure that their teacher would not catch them whispering, Violet turned back to the blond.

“And they’ll lose again. Last week, they got us good. We got them too, but it was too close. Not this week though. I have a plan,” Neville grinned, but it was nasty and malicious. Violet felt dread form in the pit of her stomach. This was sure to be bad.

“I’ll tell you more about it after class,” whispered Neville as he turned back to the front of class. And just in time too, as Professor Jiggers finally turned to face the class once more.

He seemed almost done with his speech. Since he usually he gave all the pertinent information at the end of his lecture, Violet had tuned in at the perfect moment, along with the rest of the class. “The world outside the walls of Hogwarts are dark. Crime has become more rampant, more dangerous as people try to make due in a world recovering from war and Knockturn Alley is just the start. You never know what you might face in your lifetime, another war or a man that has been pushed too far. Either way, you need to be able to defend yourself from what you face. You lot are almost adults, almost finished with Hogwarts and onto the real world. This year we won’t be learning spells and just practicing them in a contained environment. No. By the end of the year, you all will be fighting off in real battles and facing real dangers. Or as real as the Headmaster will allow me to make them.”

The professor completed his speech and watched them as they slung their bags over their shoulders. “Homework is a foot long essay on the War and its lasting effects. Feel free to use personal experience.”

The rest of the day was spent vacillating between listening to teachers lectures, worrying about whatever Neville was planning, and watching Malfoy and Granger. Malfoy was watching her as much as she him. The rest of their groups picked up on their interest and there was whispers in between the Lions about plans for this Friday, vague though they were.

Granger seemed to hang off the fringes of the group. She never stayed too close; if she did, Ron was sure to bite at her. But she wasn’t as far as she had been before. All the Gryffindors noticed her, but most of them didn’t care. Parvati and Ron were the only exceptions. Parvati glanced at Granger a lot, but she didn’t say anything about her presence to the girl in question or any of the other Lions. Ron would yell at Granger whenever she got too close, whenever she might be listening in on them or their plans.

This confirmed Violet’s suspicions about Granger being lonely. The fact that she was willing to persist through Ron’s dickishness proved how desperate she was for companionship. Parvati clearly noticed it as well. Maybe Violet should talk to the girls about including Granger. Ron would have an issue with it, he never got over Granger’s superiority in first year. But they could work around that. Lavender was good at distracting him.

After classes but before dinner, Neville dragged all the sixth years over to a trio of couches off to the side of the common room. “The Slytherins won last Friday, that much is clear. The first Friday of the year and the slimy Snakes beat us. What would our forefathers say?” Neville’s eyes betrayed his angers, one of his hands were clenched around his wand as the other slammed onto the table. “We won’t let them beat us again. And luckily, I have a plan.

“Violet and Dean, you two will make a Confounding Concoction; Seamus and Ron, you guys will then get the potion into the food of those Snakes. After that, we’ll convince them to enter the Forbidden Forest, Parvati, maybe you could fake a letter of some sort? Once we get them in the forest, we’ll follow them, fight them, and then leave. When they wake up in the forest, they’ll know they were bested by us.”

The rest of the Gryffindors were silent after Neville laid out his plan. Ron finally spoke up, “Will you have time to make the Confounding Concoction, Dean and Violet?”

Dean replied quickly enough, “Time won’t be an issue. It only takes twelve hours to make. The real problem is getting the ingredients. I think we have most of them, but the potion requires a fermented clucking slug which I doubt anyone has in their kits.”

“We were going to make one last year but the slug got us,” added Seamus mournfully, “It was going to be swell.”

“A send off to the Weasley twins,” Dean said.

Violet was relieved. A clucking slug was hard to get. They weren’t used in many potions, so not many ingredient hunters caught them.

“Whekker might have some,” Lavender said, “She has all those nasty bugs and things lining the classroom. That cucking slug might be one of those.”

“We have Potions on Wednesday,” Violet said. She would have to help now. Hopefully Whekker did have such a random ingredient in her classroom. “We could try and see what there is to see then.”

“That sounds good,” Neville said with a nod, “If it’s there, Violet and I can sneak down and grab it that night. Then you guys can start working on it on Thursday.”

Everyone agreed to the plan and then they pulled out the homework they had been given from the various classes today. McGonagall had already assigned them a paper on the differences between human transfiguration and animate transfiguration due on Friday. Violet was distracted while working on her paper. If the slug was there, the Slytherins would be in trouble. Leaving them out in the forest all night? Supposedly, there was acromantula in there, and Violet knew from her detention in first year that there were somewhat aggressive centaur. Maybe Violet could sneak back out there and rennervate them once Neville went to sleep? She’d have to figure something out...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this came out so late. I was hoping to have this published in November at the latest, but I just had nothing to write. I'm glad I did wait because I'm very proud of how this chapter turned out. I hope to write on this faster from now on, but I can't promise anything. I'm working on three of my own stories and I'm about to start a new D&D campaign so that's taking a lot of my free time too. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! (I also totally wrote out all of Professor Jiggers speech before changing it to what it is now.)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first posted work, so constructive criticism is definitely appreciated! Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!


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